November 11, 2008

CBE and GBE

As I am very close to finishing the PMA on GBE-which is one of the reasons why I havent blogged for so long- I have found a connection between the PMA content and what we leared during CBE module.

I guess we are all aware of the general fetures our PMA must have:the implications of gobalisation on trade, investment, employment and output and all these in respect of a specific sector. I have selected the clothing industry and I have to admit it is a very unsusual sector. What is happening is that textile and clothing firms in US and EU are facing the dillema of "adapting or dying", due to the gobal shift that is taking place and the fierce competition coming from developing countries.

One point is that western firms had settled with the market share the trading restictions had offered them in the past, but since 2005 when the restrictions were eliminated they are facing very difficult times because of powerfull competitors exporting to the EU and US market. This proves that a company must not seat back and enjoy success but must constantly try to be ahead of the market in order to be prepared for the worst. Remeber what Deming had said on that video about improvment...? That a company must think about it in advance and not in a midle of a crisis? I think this is representetive of the case

What i think is also very intresting is the fact that certain T/C firms particulaly from Italy and France are starting to consentrate on innovation. This reminded me lot of CBE and the EFQM model.These firms have realised that they can't compete in the mass production so they are focusing on niche markets and areas wich haven't been developt yet such as design and quality.

The fact that they are investing in unconvential fields of the textile and clothing sector is giving them a competitive advantage and a characteristic that differentiates them from the rest of the market.

Overall, I think that things would be much easier for T/C firms of developed countries if they considered Deming's idea about costantly redescovering and reinveting an oragisation, never settling with what has been achieved and always setting new goals....